We now know some more details about that secret grand jury case that’s seemed connected to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and been making the rounds recently. A D.C. Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the technically unidentified subpoena issuer — believed to be Mueller — asserting that the targeted foreign company (which also goes unnamed) must comply with the demand for testimony. Whatever company it is, they’re owned by a not formally identified foreign country.
The court heard arguments in the case this past Friday. At the time, authorities cleared the entire floor in order to protect the identities of those involved, even checking stairwells to make sure journalists weren’t staking out. Previously though, a reporter had noticed a man seemingly involved with defendant filings for the case reference the special counsel’s latest filing, and shortly after the Friday hearing concluded, a pair of lawyers working with Mueller were seen entering the special counsel’s office.
Additionally, during an earlier trip the case took up through the court system, an appeals court judge who said he’d recuse himself from Russia related matters sat out.
The targeted company apparently held that it was immune from responding to Mueller’s subpoena thanks to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, but the D.C. Federal District Court’s Judge Beryl Howell asserted the company waived that freedom when they engaged in commercial activity. She eventually held the company in contempt for their continued refusal to comply with the subpoena, which prompted the case going up to the appeals court.
The battle — between whichever exact parties are involved — has been going on for some time. It went up to the appeals court once already but was dismissed on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction. It’s unclear exactly how the case might have been altered to make it more in line with the D.C. appeals court’s purview ahead of this Tuesday’s ruling.
Thanks to what we do know, some educated guesses can be made as to what’s going on.
Russia has been documented to have harbored “troll farms” which worked to sow discord ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Mueller has already brought charges against a number of involved companies, including Concord Management LLC which has so far failed in its efforts to get the charges thrown out. Other targeted entities include the Internet Research Agency, which went to insane lengths in attempts to bend the American political system to the Kremlin’s will. They even paid a Florida man to build a cage as a physical embodiment of the endless “Lock Her Up!” chants that right wingers lob at Hillary Clinton.
The IRA also aimed to recruit black Americans as “assets,” according to a new report.
It’s unknown, though, what company that may or may not be involved in this mess has been subpoenaed by the special counsel.
One thing that is clear, though, is that despite President Donald Trump’s ever-present efforts, Mueller is continuing his work. Other recent developments include Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen getting slapped with a three year prison sentence and his former national security adviser Michael Flynn getting his sentencing postponed while he continues to cooperate with authorities.
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